EMC buys Iomega for $213M - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 10th Apr 2008, 14:59

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/04..._for_usd213m/1

Storage manufacturer EMC has bought Iomega - creators of the Zip drive - for $213M in an attempt to crack the all-important home user market.

sbarts · 10th Apr 2008, 15:11

I have very fond memories of my parallel port connected Zip drive. God it was slow but all that storage, how was I ever going to fill 100MB’s??? How times change. My internet connection is now quicker than my zip drive was and my mobile phone has 80 times as much storage.

Darkedge · 10th Apr 2008, 15:41

if they had actually released their Click disks which were supposed to be around the size of a 50 pence but hold 1/2 gb and be cheap, they would still be a presence but no, they never came out.

Blademrk · 10th Apr 2008, 15:43

I've got that very same Zip250 model sitting on a shelf at home. Bought it to back up and transfer my final project for Uni after a disaster (known simply as my kid brother) nearly wiped all of my final year project.

TGImages · 10th Apr 2008, 15:57

FIrst new product they can make.... a NAS - RAID1 system with a built in tape drive, DVDR or some other mechanism for creating a offline/offsite backup of the data. For home or small remote offices, having a NAS device that can also be backed up, and doesn't cost a fortune like the higher end products that do this cost.

Anakha · 10th Apr 2008, 16:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkedge

if they had actually released their Click disks which were supposed to be around the size of a 50 pence but hold 1/2 gb and be cheap, they would still be a presence but no, they never came out.

The IOMega Click disk originally held 40MB, and was the size of the round glass disks used in "Minority Report" (Exactly the same size - They used Click disk cases for the holders). I know, I was working in retail at the time and got to play with IOMega's prototype Click disk MP3 player. They also had a "media to click disk" unit for digital cameras, so you could fill your memory card, then transfer the pics to a (larger) click disk, emptying the card in the process. And, of course, Wikipedia has all the info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iomega_Pocket_Zip_drive

TreeDude · 10th Apr 2008, 16:05

I did not have a PC till I hit collage 4 years ago. I used to surf on my beloved Dreamcast on a 56k connection. So when I think Iomega I cannot help but remember the planned zip drive addon for the DC. I wanted it so bad.

DougEdey · 10th Apr 2008, 16:13

They still use Zips in our uni. The need to make em bigger a few gigs

legoman666 · 10th Apr 2008, 17:19

We had to use zip disks at my high school. This was when flash drives first started coming out. Once I had my first 64mb flash drive, I never touched my zip disk again.

wuyanxu · 10th Apr 2008, 17:25

ah the good ol' Zip drives. i've got a Zip drive at home somewhere. was considered HUGE!

i still use one of Zip drive's case as storage for my 2 floppy disks for flashing BIOS.

sk8ter646 · 10th Apr 2008, 19:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anakha

The IOMega Click disk originally held 40MB, and was the size of the round glass disks used in "Minority Report" (Exactly the same size - They used Click disk cases for the holders). I know, I was working in retail at the time and got to play with IOMega's prototype Click disk MP3 player. They also had a "media to click disk" unit for digital cameras, so you could fill your memory card, then transfer the pics to a (larger) click disk, emptying the card in the process. And, of course, Wikipedia has all the info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iomega_Pocket_Zip_drive

i have an Iomega Click disk MP3 sat right next to me lol dont know when i last used it though

pendragon · 10th Apr 2008, 22:05

ah yes.. i still have 2 100MB zip drives hanging around at home.. old parallel port models .. i even bought a pack of about ten 100MB disks.. at the time i felt it would replace hard disks, as you could just continue to buy more and more disks and still rub apps off them.. oh silly me :P Also remember when I was working in college.. the company I worked for had tons and tons of Jazz drives for backups.. 1 GB models ...... Well, good luck to EMC if they can breathe life back into the brand, all the better

LordPyrinc · 10th Apr 2008, 23:59

I had a zip drive way back on my first computer when I was still in college... got it free from a buddy of mine along with 2 100MB disks... never really used it all that much though.

I can't live without my flash drives these days. Got four of them ranging from 32MB to 4GB. Handy little buggers.

Xir · 11th Apr 2008, 09:22

...the drives and disks were too expensive to really replace the diskette. And they were no match for the then upcoming CDR's, so they missed their golden entry point into the market.

SlickGnome · 11th Apr 2008, 13:34

If they can get an Affordable tape backup solution for consumer use at the current storage capacities that would kick ass, How many people have 500+ gig drives loaded with music/movies/software/etc.. that is a nightmare (read: impossible) to backup to DVD, External or secondary HDD's are ok, but what if your place goes up in a puff of greasy smoke? Redundant HDD's don't help much there, but a couple of tapes that can be stored elsewhere would be great. I'm running an old SCSI tape backup at home, but tape capacities are a little low for what I need so it takes several, and to upgrade to a new setup would cost THOUSANDS at for the type I would run (I'm a little spoiled as a Net Admin, we have a 100 tape 4 head library that kicks ass for backups at work (as long as Comvault doesn't crap out)). They need to pump out something like the Jazz drive on steroids. Firewire connections, 50-100gig capacity per tape, and some good backup software (with network support!!!).

LVMike · 12th Apr 2008, 08:21

my family had a first gen Zip drive parallel port and all. ( loved it but it got the click of death) and i had the click disk player i think it was called the hip zip. I liked it, and my dad used the compact flash to click disk drive to store digital photos back when a 32 meg cf card was an arm and a leg. i liked my zip, and click drives.... but then came the ipod and flash drives.

ah the memories

10th Apr 2008, 14:59	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,965	EMC buys Iomega for $213M http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/04..._for_usd213m/1 Storage manufacturer EMC has bought Iomega - creators of the Zip drive - for $213M in an attempt to crack the all-important home user market. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

10th Apr 2008, 15:43	#4
Blademrk Why so serious? Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Here Posts: 2,352	I've got that very same Zip250 model sitting on a shelf at home. Bought it to back up and transfer my final project for Uni after a disaster (known simply as my kid brother) nearly wiped all of my final year project. __________________ The Bit-Tech.net X-Box Live! Leaderboard My X-Box Live & X-Fire GamerTag: BladeMRK WII#: 0379 8536 3210 2060 My Flikr albums Twitter

10th Apr 2008, 16:13	#8
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	They still use Zips in our uni. The need to make em bigger a few gigs __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

10th Apr 2008, 17:25	#10
wuyanxu quad fuelled, GTX200 powered Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: in a room near Soton Uni. UK Posts: 3,940	ah the good ol' Zip drives. i've got a Zip drive at home somewhere. was considered HUGE! i still use one of Zip drive's case as storage for my 2 floppy disks for flashing BIOS. __________________ Death to consolification !!!Core i7 860 @ 4Ghz Cooled by Corsair H50 // Asus P7P55D Deluxe // 8GB of Corsair Dominators @ 1528Mhz 8-8-8-24 // BFG gtx260+ OC2 MaxCore 216SP 896MB // Samsung 64GB SSD // WD Raptor 74GB + Black 1TB + Green 1TB // Corsair Hx620w // Antec p182 // Samsung 24" T240

10th Apr 2008, 22:05	#12
pendragon I pickle they Join Date: May 2004 Location: Massachusetts,usa Posts: 631	ah yes.. i still have 2 100MB zip drives hanging around at home.. old parallel port models .. i even bought a pack of about ten 100MB disks.. at the time i felt it would replace hard disks, as you could just continue to buy more and more disks and still rub apps off them.. oh silly me :P Also remember when I was working in college.. the company I worked for had tons and tons of Jazz drives for backups.. 1 GB models ...... Well, good luck to EMC if they can breathe life back into the brand, all the better __________________ -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- GCS d-@ s-:>: a- C++$ UL---@ P++>+++++$ L+ E----@ W+++ N o? K? w++>+++++ O---@ M-- V? PS--() PE+@ Y? PGP-@ t+(+++) 5(+)@ X@ R+(++) tv@ b++ DI@ D++ G e++>+++++ h! r(%) y? ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

10th Apr 2008, 15:11	#2
sbarts Supermodder Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 365	I have very fond memories of my parallel port connected Zip drive. God it was slow but all that storage, how was I ever going to fill 100MB’s??? How times change. My internet connection is now quicker than my zip drive was and my mobile phone has 80 times as much storage.

10th Apr 2008, 15:41	#3
Darkedge Supermodder Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 334	if they had actually released their Click disks which were supposed to be around the size of a 50 pence but hold 1/2 gb and be cheap, they would still be a presence but no, they never came out.

10th Apr 2008, 15:57	#5
TGImages Grandpa Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Illinois, US Posts: 160	FIrst new product they can make.... a NAS - RAID1 system with a built in tape drive, DVDR or some other mechanism for creating a offline/offsite backup of the data. For home or small remote offices, having a NAS device that can also be backed up, and doesn't cost a fortune like the higher end products that do this cost.

10th Apr 2008, 16:05	#7
TreeDude Multimodder Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 239	I did not have a PC till I hit collage 4 years ago. I used to surf on my beloved Dreamcast on a 56k connection. So when I think Iomega I cannot help but remember the planned zip drive addon for the DC. I wanted it so bad.

10th Apr 2008, 17:19	#9
legoman666 Beat to fit, paint to match. Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ohio, USA Posts: 786	We had to use zip disks at my high school. This was when flash drives first started coming out. Once I had my first 64mb flash drive, I never touched my zip disk again.

10th Apr 2008, 23:59	#13
LordPyrinc Legomaniac Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: USA Posts: 256	I had a zip drive way back on my first computer when I was still in college... got it free from a buddy of mine along with 2 100MB disks... never really used it all that much though. I can't live without my flash drives these days. Got four of them ranging from 32MB to 4GB. Handy little buggers.

11th Apr 2008, 09:22	#14
Xir Supermodder Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 529	...the drives and disks were too expensive to really replace the diskette. And they were no match for the then upcoming CDR's, so they missed their golden entry point into the market. __________________ SN25P A64 3700+ (San Diego) 2 GB DDR400 OCZ Platinum EL 2-3-2-5 1T X1800XT 512mb Sapphire 200GB Samsung SP2004C

11th Apr 2008, 13:34	#15
SlickGnome Minimodder Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: BKAC Posts: 46	If they can get an Affordable tape backup solution for consumer use at the current storage capacities that would kick ass, How many people have 500+ gig drives loaded with music/movies/software/etc.. that is a nightmare (read: impossible) to backup to DVD, External or secondary HDD's are ok, but what if your place goes up in a puff of greasy smoke? Redundant HDD's don't help much there, but a couple of tapes that can be stored elsewhere would be great. I'm running an old SCSI tape backup at home, but tape capacities are a little low for what I need so it takes several, and to upgrade to a new setup would cost THOUSANDS at for the type I would run (I'm a little spoiled as a Net Admin, we have a 100 tape 4 head library that kicks ass for backups at work (as long as Comvault doesn't crap out)). They need to pump out something like the Jazz drive on steroids. Firewire connections, 50-100gig capacity per tape, and some good backup software (with network support!!!).

12th Apr 2008, 08:21	#16
LVMike Supermodder Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Las Vegas NV & Rolla MO Posts: 412	my family had a first gen Zip drive parallel port and all. ( loved it but it got the click of death) and i had the click disk player i think it was called the hip zip. I liked it, and my dad used the compact flash to click disk drive to store digital photos back when a 32 meg cf card was an arm and a leg. i liked my zip, and click drives.... but then came the ipod and flash drives. ah the memories